France 2025 – Ending a dream getaway in Chablis

Posted on October 3, 2025 by herktrav

Day 27 and 28 – Wrapping up our time in Chablis.

How in the world has October arrived already? They say that time flies when you’re having fun and September was just a blur…form your own assumptions!

We followed our regular morning routine – showers, dress and then a run to the boulangerie. Sadly, we had to say goodbye to our favorite boulangerie woman. The shop was crowded with a line behind us, so we only had time to order our items and then thank her for her kindness and say goodbye.

We went back home to eat and then spent some time researching our potential vacation for next year. Since it appears that timing is important in booking, we thought it was best to at least talk a little bit about our thoughts and options.

Our sandwiches were tasty, as was the fresh, crunchy baguette. We had purchased some butter from the Brittany region and it has been a delicious addition to our breakfast/brunch meals. It sure is a couple of steps up from good old Land-O-Lakes.

I took care of some final confirmations for Paris, then looked through the news for information regarding the scheduled Air Traffic Controllers strike next week. We couldn’t find any updates, so we’re still crossing our fingers and hoping for the best.

We were actually able to open the windows for a little while to get some fresh air in the house. It has been a little chilly that past few days, but today’s sunshine warmed things up a little bit.

We laid out our plans for tomorrow. We have to drop off some bottles at the recycling bin and then fill up the car with gas before turning it in on Friday. There is a gas station and recycling bin right by the large intermarché (supermarket) in town, so we’ll take care of that after lunch.

We have a reservation at Chablis Wine Not for our last meal in Chablis. We felt bad after having to cancel our reservation the other night when my tummy was upset, so this will be our goodbye.

All that left us with just over an hour before dinner. We cleaned up and changed clothes before heading over to the restaurant. Tonight we will be dining at Les Trois Bourgeons.

The restaurant has been closed for the past two weeks, so we were glad to be able to make a reservation before we leave. It’s a perfect restaurant in our opinion: it is simple, has delicious food and a charming hostess/server. Really…what more could you ask for ?

Our meal began with an aperitif and an amuse bouche: rice crisps and gougères with a glass of William Fevre Montmains 2020.

I ordered the escargot as my entrée (yes, I snatched one before taking the photo) and then we both ordered the boeuf bourguignon. The pretense of needing a knife is amusing. However, the beef is so tender that you just need your fork. To eat it properly, you also need fresh bread to soak up that wonderful sauce.

We paired the meal with a bottle of red burgundy. We chose a 2018 Morey-Saint-Denis Premier Cru ‘Blanchards’ from Domaine Michel Magnien. It needed a little time and a little swirling to open up, but it was delicious and paired nicely.

After a little breather, we had dessert. I had the shredded pear with a white cheese meringue, while Sue chose the cheese plate. It was another wonderful meal, and a perfect ending to our dinner adventures in Chablis.

Au revoir!

We took a slow walk home. It was a chilly night, but the moon was bright and lit our way.

Tomorrow is going to be a little busy, but we do have our lunch to see our friends at Chablis Wine Not.

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We woke up to another chilly morning. It was 41 degrees and the windows were steamed. Neither of us wanted to climb out from under the covers.

Luckily, the sun was shining through the back windows, so the bathroom was warmer than the front of the house. Had it not been for that sunshine, neither of us would have wanted to take our shower this morning. We both did and then dressed quickly, with just an occasional shiver.

I was able to take care of a couple of emails before being brave enough to check to see if the Yankees won last night – they did!

Today was our decision day and we made it. We would not be sending home cases of wine like we have in the past. The increased shipping costs and the uncertainty on the tariffs were a big part of that decision. Honestly though, all things considered, we have a lot of wine at home and we have a great source of wine back home. Sigh…I think I’m becoming responsible.

Our last meal in Chablis was lunch. We bypassed our usual sandwich and pastry for a real hearty meal. Today’s lunch special at Chablis Wine Not was a bowl of mushroom veloute with jambon and then a delectable veal rillette with haricot vert and roasted onion.

It was a chilly day, so the Mushroom soup with ham slices was a welcome menu item.
The veal was so tender and tasty and the crusty bread just sopped up that delicious sauce.

And we needed a nice bottle of wine for our send off meal, so we went with a bottle of 2017 Vincent Dauvissat Premier Cru Séchet Chablis. It drank well and was a wonderful send-off bottle.

Yep, it was good!
Good lunchtime crowd to fill the till.

We were able to say goodbye to our friends before we left. As William Shatner or William Shakespeare once said: “Parting really is such sweet sorrow”. We walked back home and relaxed for a bit to shed any affects of the wine before heading back out.

When we were ready, it was car time. It was a short and easy drive, hampered only by the car parked directly across from our gate. Team Herkey was able to maneuver the car out and we headed off to drop off our bottles at the recycling bins and to fill up the gas tank.

I’ve never driven a Hybrid before, but for the entire time we’ve had the car, we only needed about 20 liters of gas. I know we were driving without the gas engine often, but that seems like pretty good overall fuel economy.

Sue did some pre-packing, so tomorrow morning should be quick to finish up and then head out. We drop the car off in Auxerre and then head over to the train station.

For the rest of the evening, we were watching some Youtube videos and finishing up the last bottle of wine we had in the house. It was a nice way to finish up here in Chablis.

We went to bed early hoping for a good night’s sleep and a smooth day tomorrow.

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France 2025 – Hanging around near the house

Posted on October 1, 2025 by herktrav

Day 25 and 26 – Sometimes nothing is the best thing to do.

We woke up this morning, looked out of the windows and didn’t see much. We were surrounded by fog so thick that we couldn’t see the Grand Cru hill. That wasn’t what we were expecting.

We took our showers and got cleaned up, but the fog was still lingering. With gray skies it wouldn’t be burning off anytime soon. Bummer!

We ate our brunch and then decided not to take our planned ride today, as we had no idea if the whole area was covered in fog or if it was just localized. You would almost think that weather apps would tell you about the fog, but it didn’t.

By mid afternoon, the sun was peeking through, but it was breezy and chilly. Low 50’s chilly, but the real feel was 47 degrees. We just got comfy and watched a few Youtube videos to pass the time away. Honestly, without a definite destination I didn’t just want to drive around aimlessly.

When the time arrived, we cleaned up for dinner. Tonight we’ll be returning to Le Maufoux Restaurant, which is just around the corner from us.

Simple and nice interior.
Aperitifs – Kir Royal and Chablis
The menu sounds much better in French. Just 38 Euro each.
A delightful wine with our meals.
Pork terrine and Curry Eggplant
Quasi de Veau – veal tenderloin with whipped cauliflower
Cheesecake and a pear tart

Afterwards, just a quick walk home and back to comfy and warm clothes.

I’ve been asked a few questions, so I’ll try to answer them in tomorrow’s entry.

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Another foggy morning and a chilly one at that. It was just 48 degrees when we woke up. Besides a run to the bathroom, it was a good morning to just relax in bed for a while where it was warm. But there is action forthcoming today.

When we did get back out of bed, a warm shower was a must. We both took our showers and then got dressed. The sun was out now and the fog had burned off. We made our way over to the boulangerie to get a sandwich and pastry for brunch.

We were a little later than usual and she was pretty busy today. Mostly people stopping in for sandwiches or quiche for lunch. We ordered feuilletes and pastry then went back home to eat. This afternoon we are going to a wine tasting at Domaine Louis Michel. The guys at Brighton Liquors set it up for us and we’re looking forward to it.

We were looking over Google maps and the Waze app to decide the best way to get there. We decided to just walk. The inside joke here is that it is right across the street from our house.

We had to walk across the street for our wine visit at Domaine Louis Michel

Since the travel was easy, we arrived right on time. We were surprised to be greeted by the winemaker himself, Guillaume Michel. He was exceptionally friendly and welcoming. After introductions, we walked over to the main part of the domaine and headed down to the cellar tasting area. I really want that tasting area to be my wine cellar back home.

There was a great deal of friendly chatter about the winery and wines they produced. We learned that he is the sixth generation wine maker at the domaine. The family has owned the estate since 1850, but the domaine has been there going back before the French Revolution. The vineyards go back to the Cistercian monks in the 11th century. They currently manage 25 hectares or about 62 acres of vines, including Grand Cru, Premier Cru, Chablis and Petit Chablis.

Winemaker Guillaume Michel and me.

One of the highlights of the Domaine is that they use no oak at all. Their wines only see stainless steel throughout the winemaking process. As Guillaume told us, you are tasting the true essence of the terroir from each climat. He claims to be the laziest winemaker in Chablis – he only has to watch over the wines, not mess with the natural process. His job is to be patient.

For our time with Guillaume, we tasted eight different wines. One village chablis, four premier crus and three grand crus all from the 2023 vintage, although the Les Clos was 2022. Without being a fanboy, they were all wonderful. Each was a great expression of the terroir and vintage that the grapes came from. I expressed that my favorite wine of theirs was the Premier Cru from Butteaux. When we completed the tasting, Guillaume gave us the remainder of the bottle of Butteaux to take home with us.

With our prized bottle of 2023 Butteaux

Overall, it was a marvelous afternoon. Guillaume was a superb host and the conversation was as good as the wine. I never expected to have a casual sit down tasting and conversation with such an esteemed winemaker – pinch me!

And in case you are wondering, so far the 2025 vintage looks to be a very good year.

After thanking him for his time and wonderful tasting of his wines, we crossed the street to go back home. As a tribute, we had a glass of the wine he gave us while we talked about how much we enjoyed the visit.

Our last event of the month of September is dinner. The walk over to the restaurant was quick and the town seemed extra quiet this evening. There was a goodly amount of activity this afternoon, but now it was peaceful.

Dinner tonight is our final visit to Kimm & Ridge Restaurant. Just two more visits on our “Dernière Bouchée Tour”. We were greeted like old friends and led to our table. The exciting news tonight was that there was a new fall menu.

We had a chance to look over the menu and then ordered our meal. I started with the escargot and then we both eyed the grilled guinea fowl with butternut squash and figs. For dessert, Sue had an apple crumble and I had the chocolate mousse with pear.

Seeing an available bottle, I ordered a 2015 François Raveneau Montmains Premier Cru Chablis to pair with our meal. I’ll just say it was awesome and paired perfectly.

It was another delicious meal that we can add to our list of delicious meals we’ve eaten in Chablis. In truth, we haven’t had a sub-par meal in our entire time here.

Two couples that are traveling around France to celebrate one of the women’s retirement were seated next to us and we had a chance to chat with them a little bit. While they have been constantly on the go, we explained that we just settled in to this one place. They were delightful to chat with and we encouraged them to continue celebrating her retirement.

We had a chance to chat with our hostess/server while we were paying. This was her last evening there too. She is heading off to Australia, where she originally was from. I got to wish her well in French while Sue got the hugs… sometimes life isn’t fair.

Back home, we got cozy and relaxed for a while before lights out.

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France 2025 – Roaming on a sunny market day

Posted on September 29, 2025 by herktrav

Day 24 – Our last market day in Chablis.

A bright, sunny day brought the crowds out to the market today. We could tell as soon as we left the house, as every inch available had a vehicle parked in it. Wow!

The market signs block off many of the streets that cars use to cut through – turning them into pedestrian only passages. We walked up to the corner (brisk steps, Uncle Don) and headed into the mix.

Our first stop was at the boulangerie to get a fresh baguette. The lines were long and we didn’t want to miss out. It was still warm when we bought it. Sue spotted some financiers, so you know that a few of them made it into the bag.

From there we proceeded to walk up and down the street checking out each vendor’s goods. There were some different vendors today, which made it even more fun. Whatever you wanted or needed, there seemed to be someone selling it. Clothing, fruits and vegetables, sausages, cheese, herbs, flowers, cooking pots and pans, jewelry, mattresses (I kid you not), lounge chairs, fresh oysters, gougères, honey, spit roasted chickens, meats, and nuts and olives.

Besides the actual market, it was also great to see friends greeting friends and neighbors stopping to chat…and block the street. Young and old, townsfolk and tourists all just enjoying themselves.

For our part, going into our last days in Chablis, we just bought a couple small rounds of cheese and a few gougeres to snack on.

We headed back to the house to enjoy a little lunch and to enjoy the sunshine streaming in. It felt so good to not look out the windows and see rain.

While enjoying our lunch, we had some music playing in the background and we just talked about our time here, the days ahead, returning home and lots of other topics. We’ve tried to avoid the news of this crazy world, though we have peeked a couple of times. We are aware of the fight at the top of the division between the Yankees and the Blue Jays and the struggle to get to the post-season by the Mets. (Sorry, Michael).

And as I’m editing this on Monday morning, we now know that it will be the Yankees and Red Sox in the wild card series with the Blue Jays taking the division. Ouch…and the Mets are out.

We received an email saying that one of the restaurants in Paris could not honor our reservation, so we spent some time coming up with a Plan ‘B’. We also laid out some plans for places to visit in Paris.

After all that talking and then cleaning up, we decided that it was too late to go driving around. We just chilled out for a couple of hours before it was time to get ready for dinner.

Tonight we chose to return to the Bistrot Des Grands Crus. It was any easy choice, as we really enjoy it there and it is the only restaurant open on Sunday night.

Our friendly host, Thomas, greeted us and led us to our table. He informed us that tonight was the start of the new fall menu. We ordered an aperitif and then opened the menu to see the new selections.

Before they got too busy, we made a point of thanking him and the staff for making our Sunday evening dinners so memorable. He seemed to appreciate that we were thankful and would pass our thanks on to the staff.

There were many delicious sounding choices and it was a difficult decision, but we chose to go seafood. Sue wanted to get to dessert so she skipped the entrée and went with the Pochouse, while I started with the Vol au Vent and then had the Filet de Dorade.

Vol au Vent – shrimp and mushrooms in a puff pastry with a white cream sauce.
Pochouse – A pot of salmon, pike, cod and vegetables in a white sauce with croutons
Filet de Dorade – Pan-seared Sea bream filet with fall vegetables and a citrus sauce.
2020 Vincent Dauvissat Grand Cru “Les Clos”

The desserts were also new for the autumn. I chose the pear tart and Sue had the rice pudding with caramel. One of us finished, the other left some behind….any guesses?

Pear tart and Rice pudding

It was a wonderful evening continuing our ‘Dernière Bouchée Tour’. When we finished and went up to pay, they informed us that our aperitifs were complimentary. The woman, who we surmised might be Thomas’ wife, asked us about our travels and wished us well. Thank you, Bistrot des Grands Crus !

We also had a funny moment in the restaurant with another couple. When we arrived, we were seated across from them and we pleasantly exchanged “Bonsoirs”. The gentleman seemed to be looking at Sue, in an almost staring way. We made eye contact and he says to Sue: “I apologize for staring at you, but you remind me so much of my British mother. She’s dead now”. Sue chose compassion over humor for once in her life. I leaned over and whispered: “I see dead people”. It’s provided us with perpetual giggles since last night.

Must have been something before electricity!

The walk back to the house was once again along dark, empty streets, but it was a pleasant walk and oh so quiet.

Our evening ended with taking out the recycling bin, then locking up and heading upstairs to get cozy before bedtime. We saw that the Buffalo Bills had won their game – good for them! We corresponded with friends and then it was lights out.

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France 2025 – Visiting the Abbaye de Pontigny

Posted on September 28, 2025 by herktrav

Day 23 – Cruising in the sunshine

We woke up this morning to sunny, blue skies. The gray clouds we’ve seen all week were replaced by fluffy white ones. That meant one thing – Roadtrip!

Our destination was the Abbaye de Pontigny. It was just a twenty minute ride to get there, though it took us longer due to our stopping to take pictures along the way. From where we are in Chablis, the route took us along and around the Grand Cru hill and through many of the Premier Cru Climats. It was very fun in a ‘we’re wine nerds’ kind of way.

Grand Cru hill relaxing after a good vintage

The landscape was beautiful and the sun was shining as we made our way to Pontigny. Besides the vineyards, there are only a couple of small towns that we passed through.

It wasn’t long before we made a final turn and the Abbaye came into view.

L’Abbaye Pontigny

From a logistics standpoint, you drive around some farmland, then pass alongside a sunflower patch before turning in through a narrow iron gate. From there, you could drop off passengers and then head down an inner street through the large stone gate. When you get to the main road, you make a quick right turn and there is a large free parking lot. It’s then a two minute walk back to the front gate.

Main entrance gate

Now that we’re on the grounds, it’s just a short walk to the reception center. It’s a pretty walk, mostly paved with some cobblestones near the center gate. Before getting there, it would probably help to have an idea of what type of tours they offer. You can take a guided tour at certain times; otherwise, you take an unguided tour. You can just freestyle it and wander or they do have a great self-guided audio tour – that’s what we selected (you can choose French or English language).

It takes about an hour and the audio is really great. While walking you through, they present it from the standpoint of multiple people who would have been there throughout the ages. The sounds, music and narration are all excellent.

In 2014, the Abbaye celebrated its 900th birthday. That’s not a typo – 900 years. It was founded in 1114 by a group of Cistercian Monks who were given the task of starting a new monastery. The monastery became a devotional location due to its reputation for quiet solitude.

It has been destroyed and rebuilt to its current appearance many times throughout its history. What started as a simple spiritual retreat grew and transformed over the ages. However, all those changes have not taken away the simple spiritual feeling that the monks originally imparted on the building.

The scars of revolution and wars, faith enhancements and mere masonry work can be seen and felt as you walk about.

In pictures, I’ll walk you through the Abbaye. Your job is to look and use your mind to add in the sounds of shuffling sandals, boots walking across the stone floor, monks at prayer and singing in their chanting tones. Don’t forget the sun streaming in through the windows or the dim nighttime candle glow. And lastly, remember that the monks went there to contemplate life and look for fulfillment.

Follow me:

Let’s follow the cobblestone road to the Abbaye.

Approaching the front porch.
The great but simple doors – just a cross marks the way.
Long north aisle – tall and arched
North aisle near the transept
Stone walls and windows in the nave
Organ in the loft
Entrance to the choir
South transept with statue of St. Anne and former chapels
View to the north transept
Tomb of St. Edmund of Abingdon
Raised sanctuary and altar.

An interesting note: The rules of the Abbaye were that no women were allowed in. Queen Adèle of Champagne, with her entourage, as a beloved patron of the Abbaye petitioned to be allowed to visit in 1204. She felt rare peace and sanctuary at the Abbeye. When she died in 1206, she was entombed in the Abbaye. How could they turn down the Queen of France’s final wishes?

Choir with carved wooden seats.
Exit to the Cloister and garden area.
The updated dormitory building
The Abbaye viewed from the cloister garden.
The meandering Serein along the back of the property.
A final view of the Abbaye and buildings.

And that is our look at the Abbaye de Pontigny.

It was a very pleasant way to spend a part of the afternoon. It wasn’t very crowded, so we were never jostled or bothered by others – allowing us to capture the quiet reverence and spirituality of this beautiful building.

We returned to the reception center to drop off our audio equipment and then stopped at the cafe to have a quick bite for lunch. Everything on the menu looked good and we both chose a sandwich and salad combo plate. The sandwiches are made using a puff pastry and were both delicious.

Our lunch at the Abbaye Cafe

We walked back to the car park and noticed a glass recycling container. It just so happened that we were planning to stop when we got back to Chablis, so we opened the trunk and ditched our bottles. That saved a few minutes back in town.

The ride home was just as nice as the ride to the Abbaye. With the sun shining and not much traffic, we were able to scoot right home without any problems.

All the walking on stone floors and cobblestones had both of us grousing about having sore legs, so relaxing and putting our legs up was a top priority. It sure did feel good!

I had a bit of a tummy ache in the evening, so we opted not to go out to dinner and instead just munched on some of the bread and crackers that we had at the house. After all the rich meals we’ve had, I guess a simple salad and sandwich had my system in a quandary.

We enjoyed the evening just listening to some tunes and talking about next year’s vacation plans. We have a couple of different ideas that will once again leave people wondering “Why?”

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France 2025 – Autumn colors emerging in Chablis

Posted on September 28, 2025 by herktrav

Day 20 – 22 – Life is settling down after the harvest.

Well, it appears that meteorologists in France have the same high level of accuracy as their US counterparts. Yep, it rained again today and it looks like it’s going to rain tomorrow too.

Staying in the house makes the weather much more tolerable, as we have room to roam. I would be a little claustrophobic if we were staying in a hotel room. We are getting out daily, but raincoats and umbrellas do take away from the mood.

We’ve decided to try and visit the abbey at Pontigny when we get a dry day. If there are additional decent days, we have a visit to Vezelay penciled in. Now we just need some cooperative weather.

We did run over to the boulangerie this morning to get sandwiches and some sweets for lunch. Our favorite woman was happy to see us and very welcoming. Yesterday when we were there, I ordered ham and cheese sandwiches, to which she replied that they didn’t have any, but did have the jambon and beurre. Today, I ordered jambon and beurre sandwiches and she replied that they didn’t have any, but they did have jambon and cheese. C’est la vie!

We treated ourselves and bought eclairs again today. One chocolate and one banana, plus an extra tigrès for a late afternoon snack.

We’ve been watching the hustle and bustle around the wineries over our days here and it seems to finally be settling down. At first it was truckloads of grapes being delivered from the vineyards, then the winery activity during the crush and tanking of the juice and start of the fermentation. Then spotlessly cleaning up the equipment and winery by power washing every inch and item. Then there was a bit of a lull, but we did see many celebration dinners taking place in the restaurants.

Today, we watched as a tractor trailer pulled up and loaded pallets of wine. I’m guessing that it’s the 2022 or 2023 vintages making their way to the distributors or retailers. I suppose there is still plenty going on behind the closed doors, but on the surface it appears calm.

While biding our time, I’ve been playing Euchre on my computer. I think I’ve gone from knowing the basic rules to understanding some strategy. The devious side of me enjoys when I can help in setting back my opponents. A few more rainy days and I might try Backgammon.

The afternoon did pass by somewhat quickly, helped by my energy inducing tigrès snack.

We cleaned up and changed for dinner. Tonight we are going back to ‘Chablis Wine Not’. The walk over was quick and it actually was not raining. Walking in feels like a scene from ‘Cheers’ when Norm enters the bar. Mind you, we’ve only been there three times, but every one of the staff greeted us or stopped over to say hello.

Inside ‘Chablis Wine Not’ – Restaurant, wine bar and wine store

We decided that we would make it another tapas evening. Our waitress is the best and loves coaching me through the ordering process. It’s like having a French teacher who rewards you with wine and food instead of giving you ‘C’s’ on test papers.

An evening with my favorite women!

Our tapas this evening consisted of veal terrine, an assortment of cheeses, mini Croque Monsieur sandwiches, tempura chicken nuggets and fresh bread. Everything was delicious.

We also splurged on a bottle of 2017 Domaine François Raveneau Forêt 1er Cru Chablis. It was divine.

We’ve been trying to experience different wines with each dinner and it has been both a treat and a pleasure. A treat because we cannot usually get these wines back home and a pleasure because they have all been delicious and so different. It’s been quite the learning experience, and a pleasurable one at that, to taste the nuances between the various climats. Finally some learning I can appreciate!

And then the icing on the cake for the evening was a bowl of chocolate mousse – yum!

This might be my all time favorite chocolate mousse.

Following another wonderful evening, we took a quick walk back to the house. The streets were wet and quiet and we didn’t see another soul wandering around – just a couple of passing cars.

Back home, we locked up and headed upstairs to relax for a while before heading to dreamland.

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Thursday morning rolled around and it was a lazy morning. It was raining, but we needed to move along as the housekeeper would be arriving at 10:30 am. We showered, dressed and then grabbed our tablets and laptop to keep us busy while she was here.

Anaïs is really nice and does an excellent job of cleaning up. It’s not like we trash the house between her visits, but she keeps it clean and fresh and we appreciate what she does. Today would be her last time with us, as we leave next week. Since my conversational French is not the best, I wrote her a little note expressing our gratitude that she seemed touched by. We said our goodbyes and off she went.

Sue made some tea and we enjoyed it with some bread crisps we bought and some butter and apricot jam. It was a nice little lunch, as we both wanted to avoid a heavier snack with dinner tonight.

We did treat ourselves to some wine during the afternoon. It was a tasty 2020 Domaine Laroche Blanchot. We still have three bottles of wine that need to be consumed before next week, so we have our work cut out for us. (snicker – right!)

Good news – the weather has been updated and it looks like Saturday is going to be dry. We may be able to do a little sightseeing. We have not used the vehicle as much as we expected…our reluctance to drive and then walk around in the cold and rain being the main factor. Hopefully, we’ll squeeze in a few day trips in the days to come.

Starting with tonight’s dinner, we have begun our “Dernière bouchée” or “Last Bite” Tour. It will be our last time through the group of restaurants we’ve been frequenting while here in Chablis.

Cue the funky seventies music, turn on your black lights and lava lamp and get ready for food porn. The rain has turned this into a place to snuggle up with your favorite recipe and party slow and easy.….

First on the list was ‘Au Fil du Zinc‘. As one of the top restaurants in Chablis, they offer up some top notch cuisine.

Our view out of the window. That’s the water that used to power the old mill.

Tonight we once again went with the entrée-main-dessert menu and loved every morsel.

We started with a glass of Mont de Milieu 1er Cru Chablis from some Domaine that I forgot the name of… but it was fabulous. It was a perfect way to ease into the evening and went well with the amuse bouche selections.

Easing into dinner with a menu, a glass of wine and some amuse bouche.

We ordered our meals and thought a nice red burgundy would be a perfect pairing. Our wine selection for the evening was a 2014 1er cru Nuit Saint Georges Les Chaignots from Domain Robert Chevillon. It needed to breathe a little bit then opened into a classic Burgundian wine. Lots of earthiness, mushrooms and red and black fruits. Ooh la la…

Tonight’s wine was a delicious aged red burgundy from Nuit Saint Georges.

For our starter, we both chose the roasted ceps (mushrooms) with garlic, figs and Ibaïama ham in a parsley coulis with brown butter. The flavors melted into each other and it was delicious.

Mushrooms, figs, tanka beans, parsley and Iberian ham

Next came our mains. Sue selected the seared duck. It came with duck two ways: first was a slice of breast meat with a crispy skin and second was the dark meat that was formed into a small crispy ‘meatball’ and dusted with nuts. It was accompanied by glazed beets with black cardamom, damsoms and wild mint.

For my choice, I went with the roasted game birds in a puff pastry. The puff pastry was also stuffed with some ceps and fois gras. The dish was plated with roast pumpkin, figs, a dab of crème fraîche and a port wine reduction.

Sue’s duck and my game bird in puff pastry

Dessert was a creamy gorgonzola cheese with black figs, port and tonka beans and a warm brioche bun stuffed with gorgonzola. I’m certainly glad that I saved a little wine.

Creamy gorgonzola served multiple ways

At this point, even non-smokers light up to relax. *Wink* It was an awesome ‘one last time’ meal and we both were chill and sated.

A little send off after our meal.

But there was more to come. Two delectable little tarts showed up at our table, presented by our smiling server. Wow – what an evening.

Cue the French film noir people. The walk home was again down damp, empty streets with only the streetlights to light the way. We did pass by one couple walking in the opposite direction, but otherwise we didn’t even see any vehicles.

When we arrived home, we decided to just chill upstairs rather than lighting up the whole house. It’s cozy and easy to just turn off the lights and go to sleep when we’re ready.

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We opened our eyes this morning to another rainy day. I swear the weathermen is toying with us. It doesn’t matter, we have things today that we want to take care of.

We loafed around for a bit before getting cleaned up for the day. With all the big meals lately, we decided to make this a stay at home dinner day, so today’s visit to the boulangerie was strategically planned out. We purchased sandwiches, some quiche and a couple of pastries that will provide us with enough to make two smaller meals.

Our lady friend at the boulangerie was busy today, so we made sure to move right along with our order. No chit-chatting today so the line would move along.

When we left, we made a quick stop at the boutique two doors down. They have a little bit of everything – food, wine, candy and items that would make good souvenirs. We’ve walked by a few times and never really did more than just window shop. They had some nice items, but we feared that they would get crushed in the luggage. I should have bought a corkscrew…

Arriving back at the house, Sue put on some water for tea and then we had our lunch. Nothing fancy, but fresh and delicious.

During the afternoon, we relaxed and talked about dinner plans in Paris. To put us in the mood, we opened a bottle of wine to help with the thought process. We decided to try two different places next Saturday and Sunday. We were reading reviews and looking at the menus for both locations and decided to try them both. That means, for the first time in many trips, we will not be dining at Willi’s Wine Bar.

However, the two new restaurants look to be good choices. We will be going to Le Violons d’Ingres in the 7th arrondissement and Baieta in the 5th arrondissement. We were able to secure a reservation at both places, so now we don’t have to worry about not eating over the weekend.

We confirmed our hotel reservation, so we should be all set. Having that taken care of, we just relaxed for a while and checked out the route for tomorrow’s drive.

It seemed like we were getting away with something when dinner time came and we didn’t have to change or go out. We enjoyed the second part of our earlier meal, finished off the wine and then watched some Youtube to finish off the evening.

We have plans for tomorrow…let’s see if the weather cooperates.

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France 2025 – Autumn has arrived in the Yonne

Posted on September 24, 2025 by herktrav

Day 18 & 19 – Rain, rain go away…

If we thought Sunday’s weather was miserable, you should have been here for Monday. It was cold, windy and rainy all day long. We made contact with the owners to find out how the heating worked as we needed to take the chill out of the house. Apparently stone and single pane glass doesn’t have much of an insulating factor.

A rainy day in Chablis

Before you ask, the heating is actually controlled electronically by the owners and they obliged us by turning the heat on. I thought it was going to turn into a Scrooge scenario: “Just one more lump of coal, please, Mr Scrooge”.

We did bundle up and ran over to the corner boulangerie for a sandwich and a fresh baguette, then on to the small grocery store to get some water, apricot jam and a few other supplies. We are so glad that we brought rain jackets with us. Despite the dreary rain, we at least stayed dry.

When we arrived back at the house, we ate and then burrowed in for the day. It makes no sense to drive or walk around in the rain, so we’re hoping for a couple nicer days to venture out. We read, played games and listened to tunes and the day went by fairly quickly. The worst part was the sound of the wind and the pouring rain, especially knowing that later, we would have to go out in it for dinner.

As it was nearing time for dinner, we washed up and changed clothes, hoping that the rain would ease up – it didn’t.

The good news is that the restaurant is close by. Otherwise, it would have been a miserable walk. As it was, it was still a slightly miserable walk.

Our reward for going out was a delicious meal in a cozy restaurant called Maufoux Restaurant. On this night, it appeared to be a three man operation – the host/server, a sous chef and the main chef. Almost all of the tables were filled up by 8:00 pm. We had 7:30 pm reservations and we were just ahead of the rush.

Small menu, but everything was delicious.

We started with an aperitif to go along with our gougeres. Sue had a glass of chablis and I had a kir royal.

For our entrées, Sue had a terrine de cochon with cornichons and dijon mustard, while I chose the curry d’aubergine. Both were wonderfully full of flavor without being salty, though Sue’s dijon mustard provided a couple of eye-opening moments.

Pork Terrine / Curry Aubergine

For our main, we both chose the Quasi de Veau or veal tenderloin with whipped cauliflower and mushrooms. They plated it perfectly, with the sauce an accompaniment rather than overwhelming the other flavors.

Veal tenderloin with whipped cauliflower and mushrooms

Of course, there was still dessert to come. Sue went with the pear tartare and I had the cheese cake with fruit and peanuts.

Now the surprising part…we also had wine with our meal. Tonight’s choice was another wine from Domaine Pattes Loup. We had a bottle of 2020 Pattes Loup Butteaux Premier Cru chablis.

We enjoyed our meal so much that before leaving, we made a reservation for next Monday evening.

Then came the downer…bundling back up with umbrellas in hand to walk back home. It wasn’t raining as hard as when we arrived, so we just sucked it up and headed off. No dancing and singing: “Singing in the rain” while splashing in the puddles, though I did grumble something about wet feet.

We locked everything up at the house, washed up and then relaxed in bed for a while before lights out.

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Tuesday morning brought sunshine and warm temperatures. Only kidding, it was raining and chilly once again. Most of the week is supposed to be like this, so we’re grinning and bearing it.

We hurriedly washed and dressed as the housekeeper was scheduled for 10:30 am. She arrived right on schedule and efficiently went about her tasks. Our communication is limited as she doesn’t speak English and our French is not really conversational. However, she is friendly and does a great job.

After she left, we bundled up for a quick walk to make a reservation for dinner and to grab a quick sandwich for lunch. It was a little brighter and just a misty rain, but certainly not a ‘soak in the sunshine’ kind of walk.

Our friendly boulangerie woman greeted us and we talked a little about being here until October 3rd. She was surprised that we were staying until then, but glad to see us stop by regularly. We both had simple sandwiches – jambon et beurre, then also had eclairs – chocolate for me and banana for Sue.

We enjoyed our lunch and then just chilled out for the afternoon. There may have even been a little nap involved, but I’m not positive.

We made the remainder of our dinner reservations through next week. It is hard to believe that next Friday we depart Chablis. We’ll talk about that when the time draws closer.

After changing, it was time for another walk in the rain. Tonight’s dinner was back at Kimm & Ridge Restaurant. After many rich dinners we needed to reel it in again and the food at Kimm & Ridge is delicious, but not as over the top.

I was distracted once again, so our apertifs and my appetizer missed the photo parade. However, we did start with a glass of 2020 Grand Crus Grenouilles from La Chablisienne. It was delicious with lots of minerality and layers of flowery citrus flavors.

My appetizer was an aubergine tart that was accompanied by a dollop of crème fraîche. Light, tasty and paired well with the wine.

We both ordered the pave de saumon with carrots and puys. The salmon was cooked perfectly to our liking.

Tonight we tried a 2020 Domaine Simon Billaud Montée de Tonnerre 1er Cru Chablis and it was both delicious and perfect with the salmon. Our waitress gave it a ‘très, très bon’ review, so how could we go wrong ?

For dessert, Sue went with the cheese plate while I went with the pistachio creme brulée. There was enough cheese on her plate for two people and with the fresh bread it was a meal in itself. My creme brulée was also delicious and hit the spot.

Before leaving, we made a reservation for next week Tuesday. Since they’ve seen us a few times now, they asked if we were staying in town and we explained that we came for the harvest month. They thought that was cool and then complimented us on our proper use of verb conjugation. It was really nice to hear that they appreciated our efforts.

The best part is that our waitress speaks very good English but is talking to us in French and guiding us along when we get stuck. This is exactly what I was hoping for by staying in town for so long.

We bid them ‘au revoir’ and made our way back to the house. It was just a light misty rain falling, so it wasn’t too annoying. We decided once again to just wash up and relax upstairs for a while before calling it a night. Tomorrow is once again supposed to be be chilly, but we might have seen the last of the rain for a while – cross your fingers.

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France 2025 – Rainy day in Chablis

Posted on September 22, 2025 by herktrav

Day 17 – 🎶Do you remember, the 21st day of September🎶.

With Earth, Wind and Fire providing the musical accompaniment, we have reached the halfway point of our trip. On this September day, however, we added water into the mix as it was a very rainy day.

The rain started before we went to sleep last night and there was even some thunder and lightning, at least that is what Sue said – I slept through it. When we woke up it was still pouring down rain. For us that meant the Sunday market was not to be. No sense in walking around in the rain and risking getting sick.

We showered and dressed for the day. While Sue was upstairs getting ready, I sat in the library and with the window just cracked a bit and listened to the falling rain. It was very peaceful and almost hypnotic.

We finished the brioche bread we bought at the castle yesterday and had some cheese and sausage with the other bread we bought. A cup of hot tea with honey made the chilly morning much more tolerable. While we ate, we planned out our day. It was an easy plan – stay in and stay dry until dinner time.

We followed our plan to a ‘T’. We hunkered down in the library; Sue read and I worked on the photos and blog. The day actually went by quickly. I guess occasionally singing along with the music and laughing at snippets of what Sue was reading amused Father Time and he kept the clock turning.

In what seemed like the blink of an eye, it was time to get changed for dinner. We both made sure to dress warm for the walk over. Sometime between getting changed and getting ready to go the rain stopped. It wasn’t miraculous, it was just appreciated as we wouldn’t get drenched walking over to the restaurant.

Tom, you have a vehicle, why wouldn’t you just drive over? Easy, we’d get wetter opening and closing the gate and then walking from the parking area. Besides, it’s less than a five minute walk.

Dinner tonight was at the Bistrot des Grand Crus. It just so happens to be the only restaurant open on Sunday, as it is inside of a hotel. Luckily, it’s also one of the better restaurants in town. There are basically seven restaurants in town, we’ve eaten at five of them and have enjoyed our meals. Tomorrow we will try the sixth one.

We had a delicious meal and I upped our wine game once again. We started with an aperitif – Sue had a glass of champagne and I had my usual kir royal with framboise. They serve a warm gougére along with your drink.

I started with an order of escargot that I graciously shared with Sue.

We both ordered the filet mignon of pork with linguine noodles and a dijon mustard sauce. There was fresh bread on the table to soak up the delicious sauce.

We accompanied our meal with a bottle of 2017 Domaine François Raveneau Butteaux premier cru chablis. I was bound and determined to try a Raveneau wine and tonight just seemed right. Trust me, we both thought it was great.

Dessert was another shareable item. Since Sue was “full”, I ordered a mille feuille with two forks – just in case. When it came, those crunchy layers of flaky pastry proved to be too tempting to pass up, so her fork was indeed used.

What a great dinner, especially after being inside on a rainy day. On the way out, we made a reservation for next Sunday and then took a pleasant walk back home.

It’s garbage night, so we made sure we took that out before settling in for the evening. Tomorrow is supposedly going to be chilly and rainy again. We might just break out a deck of cards and a bottle of wine.

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France 2025 – A Visit to Guédelon Castle

Posted on September 21, 2025 by herktrav

Day 16 – Building the past in the future!

Today we ventured to the site of the Guédelon Castle to see what all the fuss is about. It was about an hour’s drive from Chablis to the site and was a pleasant drive – especially with the sun shining. The castle is located in an old quarry in the heart of the Guédelon Forest.

Back in 1995, an idea was bandied about to build a 13th century castle from scratch using the technology and materials of the 13th century. Personally, I think that there might have been some wine involved…like a lot of wine. However, that idea flourished and after some discussions, negotiations and fund raising the idea became a project. In July of 1997, the plans were approved and the first stone could be laid.

Plan as shown at the Guédelon website. Click on the picture to go to the website.

All the artisans working together to make the plans a reality is quite a sight. At any time, there are or were quarrymen, stonemasons, carpenters, woodcutters, blacksmiths, tilers, carters and rope makers busily going about their tasks. Additionally, there are crafters, cooks and gardeners creating furnishings, clothing workers and feeding the workers as well as the visitors.

Now keep in mind, this is being told to you by a person who has trouble pounding a nail in straight. That said, this was awesome! And to think the work has been going on for almost thirty years. You heard that correctly… this wasn’t a castle kit from Sears. They have a 2030 target date for completion.

The original completion date was pushed back a few years when the stonecutters and master masons were called upon to help with the re-building of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris following the catastrophic fire. We’re hoping to be able to see Notre Dame when we get to Paris, so there will be an update later in the trip report.

Our drive from Chablis took a little over an hour and was awe-inspiring. The scenery was incredible as we drove along recently harvested vineyards and farmlands with hay bales dotting the fields, then passing through mini forests with leaves so dense that the sunshine instantly became shade. The road followed the landscape so we went up and then down, zig-zagged around hills and then long straightways from town to town.

Most of the towns were small, all were built around wine and farming and they oozed charm. We didn’t see many people except for a few doing outdoor chores and in one small town where they were decorating for an Octoberfest.

I have to give props to the Waze app. We used it to guide us through all those roads and towns and it didn’t fail us. Actually, our only problem came when we lost cellular service, but I had brought my wi-fi device along and we were able to switch over and continue on our way.

After not seeing much in the way of traffic, we arrived at the castle site and the lots were loaded with vehicles. Obviously, they all came a different route or they were invisible. It turns out that many of those people were there for an automobile show taking place in the parking lot. There were quite a few old cars there, like one would expect at a car club gathering.

No matter, we had to park a little further away with the RVs and campers but it was still close.

Admission was €19 each for Sue and I. The only discounts are for children and students. We paid and received our tickets and a property map.

Wrinkles aside, the map of the grounds

Once you step through the gates, you can decide what you want to see and when to see it. There are no guides, just signs pointing the way to the various workshops and, of course, the castle. The grounds are uneven dirt paths and there is sand, stones and mud to get in your shoes or between your toes if you’re wearing sandals.

Apparently some people were ‘horsing’ around with their footwear.

Keep in mind, everything is being built with 13th century techniques and technology. Stone and wood are the materials of choice, with some iron work for nails, hinges and frames. With that said, our first stop was the blacksmith shop.

The Blacksmiths workshop

With the hearth ablaze, it’s a great place to hang out on a chilly day. When the days are sunny and hot, well…the water mill isn’t far away. It’s hard work and interesting the way they know when the metal is ready to be struck and shaped just by its color in the hearth.

Next stop was the stone quarry. When you see the castle and realize just how much stone was required, you’re mesmerized. Tons of stone had to be quarried and then cut to fit before being put in place.

And for the precision work and decorative details, the masons were called in to then work those stones for a perfect fit. Keystones for arches can be seen above almost every door and window in the castle.

The mortar makers were busy with their slurry of sand, water and gravel mixed just right to keep all those stones in place for years to come.

Ok, so we have rocks, stones, metal for braces and mortar. Let’s build a castle.

All those stones and rocks had to be moved to the proper location and then placed one by one. The walls looked to be about three feet thick, so it wasn’t just one pile of stone, it was multiple layers. When you look at the walls, you can see how many different people worked on them over the years. The amazing portion is near ground level where the bigger heavier stones were used for the foundation.

The lifting equipment is also pretty cool. It’s like a hamster wheel with pulleys. A person walking inside can raise about 1200 pounds of stone or other materials. The ingenuity from earlier centuries is really quite amazing.

Sue volunteering for wheel duty.

Uh oh, we’re gonna need some wood. That meant a trip to the forest to chop down trees. The horses would then drag them back to the worksite where they would be debarked, cut to length and hewed.

There was a need for large, thick support beams as well as smaller pieces for roofing and shingles to cover the roofs.

The interior looked equally impressive. It just needs a few touches here and there to make it feel homey.

The windows brought in lots of light to take away some of the castle gloominess. There were quite a few handpainted wall decorations in the living quarters and the chapel. I’m hoping someone is crafting seating pads for those window seats or inventing heating pads for the winter months.

We next returned outside to see some of the other craftspeople and their contributions. Since this is a self-sustaining project, there is no such thing as running to Home Depot or Ikea. You need it, you make it or grow it.

We started down the path to see the dyers at work. Using mainly plants and flowers, they are able to create dyes for use in clothes and decorations. The most costly and difficult color to create was purple, which is why it was reserved for royalty, priests and nobles.

It was similar for the painters. They used different combinations of stones, clays and pigments to create the various colored paints. I guess that’s why so many things were painted the same colors back in the day. They only had certain materials available to work with.

The basket makers weaved their magic to create baskets to carry things around. It was especially valuable when picking fruits, vegetables and herbs among so many other things.

Some of the hardest tasks were left to the horses. Plowing fields, pulling wagons and dragging heavy objects like trees were part of their job description.

Gardeners are also very important. They watch over the vegetable, herb and medicinal gardens that provide needed supplies to the kitchen, bakery and apothecary (think CVS Pharmacy).

I’m sure that there are many others who have participated that we didn’t see, but are valuable to the project.

I swore they said the croissants were free!

It was a great experience to see what they have accomplished. None of this could have been done without hundreds of people working together and sharing their talents. I tip my hat to them all – great job!

Before leaving, we stopped at the Gift shop and bought a loaf of freshly baked bread and also a Brioche Chocolate for the ride home. They were baked in the onsite kitchens and smelled delicious. I’ll be sweeping out crumbs before turning the car in.

The ride home seemed to go quickly. Probably because all the surprise little streets were now known and we had wifi all the way. It was still sunny, but we could see the clouds in the distance coming our way.

Somewhere along the way, we decided that we would not be attending the concert in town this evening. That left us with a mini dilemma as we hadn’t made dinner reservations. After a couple failed attempts at making a reservation, it began to rain. With that, we decided that our fresh loaf of bread that we bought at the castle would go perfectly with some cheese and sausage and a bottle of wine. Voila! Dilemma solved.

So with a sore back and tired legs, we propped up our legs and relaxed for the evening.

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France 2025 – Enjoying day to day life

Posted on September 21, 2025 by herktrav

Days 14 & 15 – Immersion is a perfect fit for us

Thursday morning arrived and we were ready to relax. The housekeeper visits today and we have no travel plans for the day. We are just going to hang out in town today and then have a nice dinner in the evening.

Another beautiful day

It may seem like we have built in many rest days and we have. That was the plan and it is working out great. We did not want to be running to a different tourist spot every day. Instead, we wanted to blend in and do everyday things like go to the market, stop at the boulangerie in the morning for fresh bread and sweets, grab a coffee or glass of wine at a cafe and just ‘be’.

We had a great time with our friends Nancy and Michael. They bought into our plan to just ‘be’ in Chablis. We took a couple of rides into the vineyards, took a couple of wine tasting tours, enjoyed the little tourist train, went out to dinners and relaxed at home. It was enjoyable to do things and to just spend some quality time together laughing and talking.

Weather permitting, we have some additional locations that we want to visit. Castles, chateaux and small towns that seem to be beckoning us will be honored with a visit.

Anyway, back to Thursday. The housekeeper arrived and spruced the place up a bit. She is a very pleasant young woman who after exchanging pleasantries, gets right to work and does so enthusiastically. Pillows and couch cushions get fluffed, carpets get vacuumed, furniture gets dusted and windows cleaned. We try to move around to stay out of her way, so as not to impede her progress.

The house all spruced up.

With the house all clean and fresh, Sue and I walked over to the boulangerie to get a sandwich and a sweet treat. Even with a line ahead of us, the woman greeted us and gave us a big smile when we walked in. I think she is still confused as to who is actually my wife, since Nancy and I made a couple of breakfast runs together. The point is we feel like part of the town – even if they are just humoring us.

Feuilletés jambon fromage
Tigrès
Warm ham & cheese in a puff pastry / Cake with chocolate chips and a ganache on top

We returned home to eat our simple little lunch. It wasn’t fancy, but it was good! We washed down our meal with big glasses of water. We need to step up our fluid intake (besides wine) – especially since the next few days will once again be over 80 degrees.

For the afternoon, we had the windows wide open and just enjoyed the fresh air on this beautiful day. We have been pretty lucky with the weather so far, there’s been a little rain, but nothing terrible. The temperatures have been between 65 and 85 degrees and just a bit of wind at different times. However, the week ahead is supposed to be rainy and much chillier. We will just wait and see how that plays out.

Dinner time rolled around and we had reservations back at Au Fil du Zinc. Since it is not the weekend, they have a simpler ‘entrée-main-dessert’ menu that sounded good. We tried another Morey-Saint-Denis red burgundy. This one was a 2018 Les Broc from David Duband.

They started the meal with an amuse bouche, after which we both had the ‘carrots three ways’ as our starter. Carrots with black curry, marigold and sea buckthorn, plus carrot sorbet and a carrot compote.

Our main course was a delicious roast duckling. It was prepared as a seared breast portion along with a shredded leg meat “meatball”. It was awesome and perfect with the wine. In fact, it looked and smelled so good that we finished it before I realized I hadn’t taken a photo. Bad for the blog, but a nod to the chef for a creation that you just wanted to savor.

Dessert was a creamy gorgonzola cheese with sliced figs, a port wine reduction, a steamed ‘bun’ with crushed nuts and tonka beans.

It was a scrumptious meal and we left without feeling stuffed. We took the short walk back to the house and let the meal settle before heading up to bed for the evening.

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Friday morning sunshine was streaming through the windows when we awoke, but it was still warming up the chilly overnight air. Nothing that a nice warm shower couldn’t conquer – and it did! Sue followed after me and we were ready and raring to go for the day.

We started with a little walk and found our way over to the boulangerie. On this day, there were several older women ahead of us, all getting their fresh baguettes. We scored a big smile when we let another woman go ahead of us, since we then had more of a chance to ‘talk’ with the proprietor woman. We ordered our baguette and sandwiches, then peeked at the pastries. Sue ordered a palmier and when I once again ordered my tigrès, Sue and the proprietress pretended to be ‘surprised’ and we all had a chuckle. We paid for our goodies and with an ‘au revoir’, we were on our way.

Once back home, we had our lunch. Sue’s sandwich was the same as yesterday, a feuilletés jambon fromage. After finally pronouncing it correctly, I felt I needed to move on. So for me, I had a bagnat poulet. It was a chicken sandwich with slices of tomato, onion, egg and red bell peppers and a touch of vinaigrette all on a brioche roll. Winner, winner chicken dinner!

feuilletés jambon fromage
bagnat poulet

There seemed to be a tad more traffic than usual in town – especially more trucks than we’ve seen since the harvest. We are not on a highway, but notice when there is a bump-up in traffic in the otherwise quiet town.

🎶 Blue skies, nothing but blue skies.. 🎶

We were originally planning to go to Guédelon Castle, but decided to wait until Saturday. The hot weather did not sound like something we wanted to walk around in and Saturday was supposed to be a tad cooler – though still nice.

We were surprised by the number of people visiting Chablis this afternoon. There was a large tour bus that dropped off a bunch of people and then we saw two more vans full of people a while later. We just laughed and thought that there must have been a coupon.

It’s funny…when we open the gate or driveway entrance door on the front privacy fence, there are always people rubber-necking to see what’s behind the ‘mystery doors’. Sorry… no celebrities or sports stars – it’s just us.

Neither of us were overly hungry this evening. We decided to just stay in and munch on some of the goodies that we have at home. I figured out the television connection and we watched a couple of YouTube videos. We wanted to get up earlier on Saturday to visit the castle, so this was perfect.

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France 2025 – The medieval town of Noyers-sur-Serein

Posted on September 17, 2025 by herktrav

Day 13 – Going medieval on a sunny day

Today, we decided to travel back in time. H.G. Wells, eat your heart out. We took the Austral and we were comfortable for the 23 kilometer drive from Chablis.

Noyers-sur-Serein is located southeast of Chablis and the short ride had us driving along vineyards, forest land, small villages and farmland. The grapes have all been harvested, the trees are just thinking about changing colors and the farmers are turning up the soil after their own harvest, but the landscape was beautiful as we coasted along. The GPS had given us three alternatives and we made a good choice.

My one ‘petit souci’ or little problem with the ride was that there was no place to pull over and take pictures. It’s a two lane road with no parking areas or even driveways. We will find a way during the remainder of our stay to take some pictures of the area. In the meantime, you’ll have to trust me…pinky promise!

When we arrived at the town, we were surprised to see that there were many people walking the streets and parking was difficult to find. We circled the town and then found the Naïfs Museum and a public lot to park. Since the museum would be closing soon for lunch, we decided to start with a walk around the town.

The museum and the parking lot

As we wandered down the streets, the architecture was amazing. Most of the buildings date back to the fifteenth century and they certainly look it. Not in a bad way, but half-timbered houses, piled stone fences and walls, and stairs worn smooth on the edges are not currently featured in House Beautiful magazine. But in this beautiful old town, they are perfect. We passed by a couple of people who were working on their houses. One was painting a gate and the other was tidying up their garden. Old, but well cared for.

When we approached a corner, the church bells were ringing in the twelve o’clock hour; the high, old bell tower helping the sound to carry. That’s when we saw the sign blocking traffic for ‘Market Day’. That’s why the streets were so crowded.

We continued down the street towards the town center. We could see some of the vendor stands, but unfortunately, most of them were packing up. We had a chance to peruse a few of the stands while we were walking around – some vegetables, a little jewelry and some charcuterie. If we had known, we would have started out earlier.

We continued walking down the main street in town, checking out the little shops along the way. There are quite a few artsy shops selling ceramics, hand-crafted jewelry and artwork. I had read that there are quite a few former Parisians who have given up on the big city and moved to the countryside. I guess these might be some examples.

We cut over to walk along the river and it really was serene. They chose a good name for it as the Serein River just meanders its way through the countryside. No rapids, no water falls, just a gentle flowing river.

As it was now going on one o’clock, we decided that we were both a bit peckish and ready for a bite to eat. We just wanted something simple, so we stopped in a boulangerie and bought a couple of sandwiches – one chicken and vegetables and the other a ham and cheese. We were lucky, since she only had four sandwiches remaining. We also thought we’d split a gougere, however she gave us a second one ‘on the house’. Our entire lunch came to Euro 10,35.

We decided to have a picnic in the car. We walked back over to the car park, rolled down the windows, poured out some water and enjoyed our lunch. It was quiet and nice. It was also close to the Museum, so it would be easy to get to when it re-opened.

Afterwards, we shook off the crumbs. Ok…I shook off the crumbs and then we walked over to the museum- only to find that it was closed. We were going to head back to the car, when a 30ish guy rounded the corner on his bike. He was the curator and was just a few minutes late from lunch.

We gave him a few minutes to open up and get situated before heading inside. The Naïfs Museum is a collection of objects and art, both older and modern. They have items and collections from France, Southern Europe, Latin America, Asia and Northern Africa. It was quite eclectic, but very interesting. I took lots of pictures, I’ll let you guess what some of my favorites were.

We really enjoyed the museum and made a point of telling the curator that we did. He seemed pleased that we even knew about it, let alone liked it. With that we headed to the car, rolled down the windows and started back to Chablis.

The ride back was as pleasant as the ride over. Same scenery and same absence of other vehicles. We mostly had the road to ourselves.

Like a pro, I maneuvered the car into the driveway with my flag girl shouting out directions.

We spent the remainder of the afternoon relaxing and enjoying the beautiful, sunny day. We’re trying to soak in as much as we can, because next week the forecast is rain. Ugh!

Dinner tonight was at Chablis Wine Not once again. We walked in and you would have thought we were regulars based on the greeting. We were led upstairs to our table and had the same servers as last time. Another great meal – this time meal instead of tapas and everything was delicious.

We shared a Croque Monsieur appetizer, then Sue had the grilled pork chop and I had the roasted duckling. Both were awesome. We splurged on a bottle of 2022 Domaine Cecile Tremblay Morey-Saint-Denis red burgundy that was over-the-top good.

A funny little side note: we ordered the wine from our waiter and when the head wine guy came to the table to open the wine, he was wearing a shirt from Domaine Cecile Tremblay. He told us that the owner is a friend of his and that he loves the wine. The little synchronicities in life are fun!

Afterwards, that’s my chocolate mousse and Sue’s gateau amand (almond cake) with angel cream.

Needless to say, we enjoyed our meals and the wonderful service. We’re looking forward to returning next week.

It was a beautiful evening for a walk back to the house. Honestly, this just feels so right. We are having a great time here in Chablis.

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